Cinema advertising platform National CineMedia (NCM), the U.S. representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity‘s Young Lions competition, revealed this year’s 25 finalist teams on Wednesday.
NCM also revealed that Omnicom-owned media agency OMD USA has joined the U.S. Lions Community as the competition’s first Bold Impact sponsor.
OMD has teamed up with the Ad Council to offer a secondary competitive brief focused on youth fentanyl awareness and a naloxone education campaign, providing another opportunity for young marketers to make their way to Cannes Lions.
“This partnership with NCM, the Ad Council, and the U.S. Lions Community reflects OMD’s commitment to providing the next generation of talent with the opportunity to not only showcase their skills, but to do so in a way that reflects their documented desire for meaning and relevance in the work they do,” OMD USA CEO Chrissie Hanson said in a statement. “Our work with the Ad Council helps us achieve that goal, putting the resources of a major U.S. media agency behind the effort to educate families and young people about the fentanyl crisis.”
NCM also said all U.S. Lions Community members—including new 2025 competition registrants, jurors, and sponsors—will gain access to exclusive webinars from Cannes Lions, Joan Creative, McKinney, Movers+Shakers, and StrawberryFrog.
“The U.S. Lions Community serves as a platform for brands and agencies to get inspired, form connections with young talent, and cultivate the skills and knowledge of current and future marketers,” NCM chief marketing officer Amy Tunick said in a statement. “We are grateful to this year’s impressive lineup of content series hosts for nurturing the next generation of our industry.”
The Young Lions competition invites creatives under the age of 30 to compete on a brief for a chance to attend the festival and face off against young creative talent from around the world. NCM noted that it received more entries for the Young Lions competition this year than in 2024.
This year’s competitors solved a business and communication challenge for nonprofit WhyHunger, and one winning team of two people will receive roundtrip airfare, accommodations, and Young Lions passes to this year’s Cannes Lions, to be held June 16 through 20.